With three, sometimes four, singers, bursting their lungs at the same time, a crowded stage filled with guitars and trombones, and wildly dancing mad men, and attitude to burn, these punk rockers from Cali look more like a ska revival band then the hard charging indie unit you see before you.
Lead by Recess records (a punk label) owner Todd Congelliere, the band slammed Bowery Ballroom against the wall and shook em down, with the bass player buckling with pleasure and the trumpeteer setting his instrument down only to shake a tambourine and decry with the rest of the band.
On the road with Screaming Females to plug the product, a pretty good sophomore effort, Know Your Sins, that still fails to capture the pulsating energy of their live performances, they came, they saw and fuck did they conquer. The band plays at once and charges you forward and it should end up in a shambles, in a train wreck, but they keep it together so tightly it is quite remarkable, as if they couldn't sing a word without making it an anthem and couldn't make an anthem without sneering at the concept.
Tom has previously played with FYP and Toys That Kill -two more typical loud fast ryles, Candyland are two stops beyond, "That I Dunno" is a classic rock template and is played loud, hard, this side of chaos, the Shellshag is a blissed out singalong, and the band connect like deep best friends, frat house buddies, who just want everybody to join in.
The surprise is that the concept is an illusion, instead it is guitar and skronk symphonic rock and roll for voices.
Grade: B+